Orders are available for pick-up at Restaurant Nicholas at 160 Route 35 South Red Bank, NJ 07701 during the following times:
Monday: 9:30-3:30; Tuesday – Friday: 9:15am – 9:00pm; Saturday: 11:00am – 9:00pm; Sunday: Closed
$105.00 $90.00
If you’ve been paying any attention to the wines coming out of Washington state, then no doubt you’ve heard of one of its very best wineries in Andrew Will. Since 1989, they’ve been making some of the very best Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux Blends in the entire country – a testament to the brilliance and consistency of Lucia Camarda. Andrew Will was named for both their nephew Andrew and her son Will.
The two vineyards they source fruit from have beccome arguably the state’s most well-known vineyards in Champoux and Ciel du Cheval, though no one can argue that the former is the most decorated. If a 100-point wine was made in Washington, there’s a good chance it was carved off Champoux Vineyard.
Their flagship bottling is the ‘Sorella’ a Bordeaux blend that they make each year off Champoux. In 2019, Lucia may have turned in her greatest Sorella yet with their 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petite Verdot blend. The wine flirted with perfection from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate who gave it a rave 99-point review and implored readers to “Buy this ASAP”. 97 more from Jeb Dunnuck who called the wine “pure class”. There’s not a person alive who could argue with that.
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99 Points, Parker’s Wine Advocate
Flirting with triple digits, and perhaps the best Sorella yet, the 2019 Sorella explodes from the glass with a fantastic mineral essence that sways between dark red fruit tones, oak essence and freshly opened flowers. Medium to full-bodied, the wine is impeccably balanced with a silky-smooth mid-palate that bestows a stunningly beautiful wine with gobs of complexity and a ripe frame of glossy black raspberry and blackberry fruit tones. Unwinding across the finish, the wine unpacks gorgeous layers that seduce me for a second, third and fourth sip and finally begs me to finish the glass. Buy this ASAP!
97 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
The flagship from this talented team is the 2019 Sorella, which is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, all from the Champoux Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. Deep purple-hued, with a great nose of cassis, blackcurrants, tobacco leaf and lead pencil, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, silky, polished tannins, and terrific overall balance. It shows the pure, elegant, seamless style of the vintage and will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and evolve nicely for at least two decades. This is pure class.
91 Points, Wine Enthusiast
Always the one with the most personality of the bunch, this is what Wine Enthusiast had to say about the 2021 release: “This extremely ripe and bold style of Pinot Noir will please those seeking such lushness. Dark in the glass, it begins with black cherry, toasty caramel and cola milk shake aromas.” The cool, coastal days and abundance of sunshine lines up perfectly for a wine that has a good natural acidic backbone, with bold fruit-forward flavors. In an easy 2021 vintage, Joe Wagner had a field day with this single-vineyard beauty.
In the 2020 vintage in Gevrey-Chambertin, yields were super low and temperatures were hotter than most Burgundian winemakers are accustomed. Many picked too late when the sugars were high and the fruit really ripe, but that was not the play. Still, Ann remained as cool in those hot temps as she did so many years ago in Napa, concentrating more on acid levels than sugars and picking at just the right time. This wine is absolutely singing – it’s an age-worthy beauty that should be even better in 4-7 years.
95 Points, Jeb Dunnuck – 95 Points, Lisa Perotti-Brown
The oft 100-point winemaker, Jayson Woodbridge had this to say when tasting his 2021 ‘Stargazing’ Sonoma Pinot: “The wine is vibrant and complex with subtle dark fruits and berries, grandmother’s cherry pie, minerals, and a slight touch of rain-soaked earth, intertwined with a balance and very pleasing easy-going luxury. Should have been priced higher but what the hell.” I have no doubt this clerical error will be addressed in the vintages moving forward. But for now, this is a cult Pinot for under $100/bottle.
Winemaker Pascal Sirat consistently puts out some of the best value Bordeaux in the region but he may have outdone himself in what was a stellar 2019 vintage throughout the region. Just south of Pomerol, the vines at Panchille borrow deep in the soil. The resulting wines are ripe but fresh, with an aromatic complexity and stony finish usually reserved for wine twice the price. Daniel Boulud tells me it’s been the hottest bottle of wine at Bar Boulud for over a month, so I figured I’d better hurry up and secure my allocation! Don’t miss it.